The crew of seven aboard the space shuttle Atlantis spent an extra day inorbit after poor weather conditions prevented them from returning home onFriday. Showers and thunderstorms as well as low clouds made landing at KennedySpace Center in Florida impossible.Atlantis was scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center today, but poorweather conditions once again delayed the shuttle from touching down. The nextlanding attempt in Florida will be Sunday at 10:11 a.m. EDT, when showers andthunderstorms are in the forecast.
If poor weather continues in Florida, Atlantis would attempt to land atEdwards Air Force Base in California. Sunshine will dominate the weather atEdwards on Sunday. The only concern will be winds averaging 12 to 25 mph in theafternoon. There will be slightly higher gusts.
If Atlantis is forced to land at Edwards Air Force Base, the shuttle willeventually have to be ferried back to Kennedy Space Center via a costlypiggyback ride on a modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.
Atlantis has been in orbit since May 11. The crew visited the Hubble SpaceTelescope, working on repairs and upgrades.
Story by AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Katie Storbeck.
